Purpose: The prevalence and incidence of tuberculosis in inmates population is much larger than in the general population. The purpose of this study was acquiring good knowledge of the prevalence of infected person and tuberculosis patients, as well as the physical, social and criminal characteristics of inmates. Method: An active search of tuberculosis cases was conducted among the 1,052 inmates of 9 County Jails of the West Section of the São Paulo City between 2000-2001. After application of an inquiry and the tuberculin skin test, laboratory investigations were also conducted such as sputum bacilloscopy, culture, identification and the test of sensitivity to anti-TB drugs. Results: Out of the total number of 1,052 inmates, 99.7 per cent were males; 71.3 per cent were in the group of ages 18 and 29 years old; 82.4 per cent were single or had sexual mates; 51.4 per cent were negroes or mulattos; 64.5 per cent had low education level; 40 per cent had been engaged in thefts/robberies; 3.7 per cent had tuberculosis episodes in the past and 32.8 per cent displayed respiratory symptoms. Out of the 932 which underwent the tuberculin skin test, 64.5 per cent were infected. Out of the 1,017 sputum samples analyzed, 8 (0.8 per cent) had positive bacilloscopy and 54 (5.3 per cent) positive culture. Of the 54 strains isolated, 38.9 per cent were M. tuberculosis and 61.1 per cent were non-tuberculosis mycobacteria. Of the 21 M. tuberculosis strains 85.7 per cent were sensitive, 9.5 per cent were resistant to isoniazide and rifampicin and 4.8 per cent to isoniazide, rifampicin and pyrazinamide. Conclusions: Based on the bacilloscopy, the tuberculosis prevalence rate (per 100,000 inmates) was 787 and based on the culture was 5,310 inmates, around 30 and 203 times higher than that of the São Paulo city population, respectively. The fact that 3 inmates had strains multi-resistant to anti-TB drugs can be deemed a threat to the public health

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